Transcript The Mongol and Ming Empires

The Mongol and Ming Empires
Mongol Armies Build an Empire
The Mongols were a nomadic people
who grazed their horses and sheep on the
steppes, or vast, treeless plains, of
Central Asia. Rival Mongol clans spent
much of their time warring with one
another. In the early 1200s, however, a
brilliant Mongol chieftain united these
warring tribes.
Conquests of Genghis Khan
Under the
leadership, of
Genghis Kahn,
Mongol forces
conquered a vast
empire that
stretched from the
Pacific Ocean to
Eastern Europe.
Genghis Khan
Originally called Temüjin, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227)
was renowned for being ruthless, determined, and
courageous. When Temüjin was nine years old, a rival
Mongol clan poisoned his father. At the age of 15,
Temüjin was taken prisoner. For the rest of his life, he
never forgot the humiliation of being locked in a wooden
collar and paraded before his enemies.
When he regained his freedom, Temüjin wandered
among drifting clans. He took revenge on the clan that
had imprisoned him and in time, became supreme ruler
of all the Mongols. Once despised, Genghis Khan would
be admired and feared across two continents
The Conquests of Genghis
Khan
He imposed strict military discipline and
demanded absolute loyalty. His armies
had some of the most skilled horsemen in
the world.
Genghis Khan did not live to see his
conquest of China be completed.
His heirs continued to expand the
empire.
Mongols Invade China
Genghis Khan had a reputation for fierceness. He could order the
massacre of an entire city. Yet he also could be generous,
rewarding the bravery of a single fighter.
Genghis Khan & Mongol Rule
The Mongols were not oppressive
rulers. They often allowed
conquered people to live as they
had before—as long as they
regularly paid tribute to the
Mongols.
Khan believed in tolerance of others
and an overall sense of justice.
Political stability set the stage for economic
growth. Under the protection of the
Mongols, who now controlled the great Silk
Road, trade flourished across Eurasia.
Strength of the Mongols
Cultural exchanges
increased as foods, tools,
inventions, and ideas
spread along protected
trade routes.
Kublai Khan (Genghis
Khan’s grandson) spread
Mongol rule even further.
Marco Polo Writes About China
Italian merchant Marco Polo spent time in China
during the Yuan dynasty. (Kublai Khan renamed the
Mongol Dynasty the Yuan Dynasty). His writings
made Europeans very
interested in
China’s wealth.
The Ming Restore Chinese Rule
Yuan dynasty declined after the death of
Kublai Khan.
Zhu Yuanzhang (a peasant leader) defeated
the Mongols and founded the Ming (brilliant)
Dynasty .
Achievements of the Ming
Restored the civil
service system, and
Confucian learning
again became the
road to success.
Farming methods
improved.
Classic literature
Valuable porcelain
exported abroad
Culture Flourishes
Chinese Fleets Sail the Seas
Ming rulers sent fleets into
distant waters to show the
glory of their government
and promote trade.
The most extraordinary of
these overseas voyages
were those of Zheng He
(jeng he).
“The countries beyond the
horizon and from the ends of
the earth have all become
subjects. . . . We have
traversed immense
waterspaces and have behold
in the ocean huge waves like
mountains rising skyhigh, and
we have set eyes on barbarian
regions far away . . . while our
sails loftily unfurled like clouds
day and night continued their
course, traversing those
savage waves as if we were
treading on a public thorough
fare.”
—Zheng He, quoted in The
True Dates of the Chinese
Maritime Expeditions in the
Early Fifteenth Century
(Duyvendak)
Exploration Ends
In 1435, the year Zheng He died, the Ming emperor
suddenly banned the building of seagoing ships.
We are not sure why. Possible reasons: cost? Some
Confucian scholars may have believed it was better to
focus inward and ignore the outer world.
How would this ‘turning inward’ have hurt China?
How do you think the course of history may have been
changed by this decision to abandon the great
overseas voyages?